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Talk:Willie Pete/@comment-821254-20130803023109
So in addition to the regular supply of sophistry that is Newsroom, the idea that the profession that is reporting the news and the people that do it as basically good, the way that this production is written and performed is quietly unnerving. But before I dig my grave with that let me address the real reason I'm writing this particular comment, which is Maggie's upcoming trip to Africa, a trip that Gary Cooper will be joining. Since we know that Maggie as main cast member and therefore isn't expendable, at least not this early in the dramatic life of the series, let me do a bit of soothsaying. Given fact she appears in the first episode of the second season having suffered a significant personal trauma presumably during said time in Africa, something terrible happened. Now Gary is just a recurring co-star and very expendable, so let me guess that amid the many terrible things she is bound to see and experience in the conflict riddled areas of Africa or anywhere, Gary is going to die, but Maggie, obviously does not. Yet another black person has to die for someone else to learn a lesson, oh joy. Let me try to explain why Gary’s possible impending death irritates me so much. Gary Cooper is one of four black characters of significance on Newsroom, all of which are recurring co-stars, one of which Terry Crews who appeared 5 episodes of ten episode first seasons. Crews plays the part of Will McAvoy's body guard, Lonny Church, after he receives death threats, but by the second season his character no longer relevant is gone. Leaving only Kendra James and Gary Cooper both associate producers and the young black reporter out on the campaign trail with Jim. The unknown black reporter who together with South Asian female reporter who both barely had any lines and we probably won't see again or nearly as much of after they fail to cease day like the two white reporters and take a stand with Jim and get put off the press bus. Either way the black character front is looking grim, meanwhile while the white female recurring co-star front is safe as the suburbs. Grace Gummer who plays Hallie Shea, the female reporter who clearly is going to play a significant enough role to warrant being included in the Newsroom Wikipedia page listed as a recurring character, unlike several of fellow actors as embedded reporters. At first I wondered why, why Grace Gummer, why not another actress, like say an actress of color, considering Newsrooms lack of color especially regarding characters with significance to the storyline until I realized she is supposed to be more attractive reminder of Maggie. Though after realizing ''that ''I was left to wonder why Alison Pill, why not another actress, like say an actress of color, and unlike before I couldn't come up with a convenient or comfortable excuse. I couldn't think of an excuse that didn't imply that only a white woman could have played the part of Maggie Jordan, or that only white women were considered or intended to play the part, because I'm not really sure I want to know why if I think hard enough about it. Everywhere I observe in television and movies I’m getting the message that there is a silent quota, an implied limit on the number of characters of color. Once you reach this limit no more are needed, that there is such a thing as enough that one or two or five is enough diversity. Two people of color in the main cast is enough, but there is always room for more white characters everywhere, anywhere. But what happens when Gary is written off, and there is only one black person left on the show, a character that never had many lines to begin with, it must be nice to be a white actor, is all I can say.